Scribd
Upload
39 views2 pages

Regressive Hypothesis: Acanthamoeba

Viruses exist wherever life exists and have likely been around since the earliest living cells evolved. There are three main hypotheses for the origin of viruses: (1) the regressive hypothesis that viruses evolved from once free-living cells that became parasites and lost unnecessary genes, (2) the cellular origin hypothesis that viruses originated from genetic material like plasmids or transposons that escaped from host cells, and (3) the co-evolution hypothesis that viruses evolved simultaneously with the first cells on Earth and have coevolved interdependently with cellular life for billions of years. Modern analysis of viral and host DNA sequences has provided insights but not conclusively proven any single hypothesis, suggesting viruses have multiple independent origins over time through different mechanisms

Uploaded by

girma shimelis
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
39 views2 pages

Regressive Hypothesis: Acanthamoeba

Viruses exist wherever life exists and have likely been around since the earliest living cells evolved. There are three main hypotheses for the origin of viruses: (1) the regressive hypothesis that viruses evolved from once free-living cells that became parasites and lost unnecessary genes, (2) the cellular origin hypothesis that viruses originated from genetic material like plasmids or transposons that escaped from host cells, and (3) the co-evolution hypothesis that viruses evolved simultaneously with the first cells on Earth and have coevolved interdependently with cellular life for billions of years. Modern analysis of viral and host DNA sequences has provided insights but not conclusively proven any single hypothesis, suggesting viruses have multiple independent origins over time through different mechanisms

Uploaded by

girma shimelis
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Viruses are found wherever there is life and have probably existed since living cells first evolved.

[46]
 The origin of viruses is unclear because they do not form fossils, so molecular techniques are
used to investigate how they arose.[47] In addition, viral genetic material occasionally integrates into
the germline of the host organisms, by which they can be passed on vertically to the offspring of the
host for many generations. This provides an invaluable source of information for paleovirologists to
trace back ancient viruses that have existed up to millions of years ago. There are three main
hypotheses that aim to explain the origins of viruses:[48][49]
Regressive hypothesis
Viruses may have once been small cells that parasitised larger cells. Over time, genes not
required by their parasitism were lost. The bacteria rickettsia and chlamydia are living cells
that, like viruses, can reproduce only inside host cells. They lend support to this hypothesis,
as their dependence on parasitism is likely to have caused the loss of genes that enabled
them to survive outside a cell. This is also called the 'degeneracy hypothesis', [50][51] or
'reduction hypothesis'.[52]
Cellular origin hypothesis
Some viruses may have evolved from bits of DNA or RNA that "escaped" from the genes of
a larger organism. The escaped DNA could have come from plasmids (pieces of naked DNA
that can move between cells) or transposons (molecules of DNA that replicate and move
around to different positions within the genes of the cell).[53] Once called "jumping genes",
transposons are examples of mobile genetic elements and could be the origin of some
viruses. They were discovered in maize by Barbara McClintock in 1950.[54] This is sometimes
called the 'vagrancy hypothesis',[50][55] or the 'escape hypothesis'.[52]
Co-evolution hypothesis
This is also called the 'virus-first hypothesis'[52] and proposes that viruses may have evolved
from complex molecules of protein and nucleic acid at the same time that cells first appeared
on Earth and would have been dependent on cellular life for billions of years. Viroids are
molecules of RNA that are not classified as viruses because they lack a protein coat. They
have characteristics that are common to several viruses and are often called subviral agents.
[56]
 Viroids are important pathogens of plants.[57] They do not code for proteins but interact with
the host cell and use the host machinery for their replication. [58] The hepatitis delta virus of
humans has an RNA genome similar to viroids but has a protein coat derived from hepatitis
B virus and cannot produce one of its own. It is, therefore, a defective virus. Although
hepatitis delta virus genome may replicate independently once inside a host cell, it requires
the help of hepatitis B virus to provide a protein coat so that it can be transmitted to new
cells.[59] In similar manner, the sputnik virophage is dependent on mimivirus, which infects the
protozoan Acanthamoeba castellanii.[60] These viruses, which are dependent on the presence
of other virus species in the host cell, are called 'satellites' and may represent evolutionary
intermediates of viroids and viruses.[61][62]
In the past, there were problems with all of these hypotheses: the regressive hypothesis
did not explain why even the smallest of cellular parasites do not resemble viruses in
any way. The escape hypothesis did not explain the complex capsids and other
structures on virus particles. The virus-first hypothesis contravened the definition of
viruses in that they require host cells.[52] Viruses are now recognised as ancient and as
having origins that pre-date the divergence of life into the three domains.[63] This
discovery has led modern virologists to reconsider and re-evaluate these three classical
hypotheses.[63]
The evidence for an ancestral world of RNA cells[64] and computer analysis of viral and
host DNA sequences are giving a better understanding of the evolutionary relationships
between different viruses and may help identify the ancestors of modern viruses. To
date, such analyses have not proved which of these hypotheses is correct. [64] It seems
unlikely that all currently known viruses have a common ancestor, and viruses have
probably arisen numerous times in the past by one or more mechanisms. [65]

You might also like